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from the military to the classroom. Seventy-five percent of the veterans received certification
through alternative certification programs and 25 percent through university postbaccalaureate
certification programs. Eighty-two percent of these new teachers are male, and 35 percent are
minority, thus fulfilling one of Texas’ goals of encouraging ethnic diversity in teachers and
increasing the number of male educators (Region XIII Education Service Center 2004).
For the elementary principals interviewed however, the difficulty in finding highly qualified
teachers does not occur for core courses, but for bilingual or ESL teachers and paraprofessionals..
Title III-Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students
Congress wants that children who do not speak English as their first language to learn
English as quickly as possible so they can be placed in regular classrooms and advance with their
peers. ISDs provide bilingual instruction, English As a Second Language (ESL) classes, and
expanded time-learning opportunities to help these students, often in combination with Title I
programs.
State agencies reported that the number of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) children
rose from 2.1 million in 1990-1991 to 3.7 million in 1999-2000. The U.S.Department of
Education reports that today “there are 5.5 million LEP students in U.S. public schools who
speak more than 400 different languages. Eighty percent of LEP students speak Spanish as their
first language (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).” These students are not always well served.
“A congressionally mandated study found that these students receive lower grades, are judged by
their teachers to have lower academic abilities, and score below their classmates on standardized
tests for reading and math (U.S. Department of Education 2002, 62)” thus, NCLB emphasizes the
Convention